Bullying behaviors, whether virtual or face-to-face, have negative impacts not only on victims and survivors, but on bullies too. The aim of this course was to learn about effective ways to prevent and tackle all forms of bullying in education and school settings, thanks to socio-emotional learning. The new edition of the course “How to stop bullying and cyber bullying in schools and promote social emotional learning” took place in Bologna from 17/07/2022 to 23/07/2022. We had participants from four different countries: Doina Mormenche, Mihaela Stiubianu and Adriana Tudose from Colegiul National "Alexandru Ioan Cuza” in Romania, Daiana-Alexandra Dragus and Adrian Tudor from “Liceul Andrei Mureșanu Brașov” always in Romania, Raul Corraliza Nieto and M Mar Santos Martin from “Arquitecto Pedro Gumiel School” in Spain, Luis Alberto Moral Pérez and Mónica Gorrita Cortés from “Institut Antoni Ballester and Escola Mediterrani” (Spain), Manuel Garcia Caballero from “Juan Ramón Jiménez School”, again in Spain, Nuray ÇAKIR and Azra HÜNERLİ from “Osmangazi Primary School” in Turkey and Markéta Votočková from “NOVÝ PORG” in Czech republic. ![]() We started with our introduction day where we brainstormed all the different kind of bullying behaviours: which forms does it takes? Who are the participants of a bullying scenario? Which are the three main elements which distinguish bullying from conflict? We moved on to talk about the victim: which are the risk factors that lead children to be bullied? And what can we do to prevent this situation? What are the initiatives that can be carried out to prevent bullying behaviours? We looked at these topics by 4 different points of view: family, school, individual and community. One of the main and most difficult types of bullying to be eradicated is cyber bullying. Nowadays Internet has a major role in the lives of our kids and may have a negative impact on them. However, it also has some positive sides. With some practical activities we explored the world of cyber bullying. We also discussed about the differences between traditional and cyber bullying and about the things that they have in common. To understand and put ourselves in the shoes of bullying victims we implemented a very powerful activity which can be used both with students, parents and teachers to raise awareness. Moreover, with some case scenarios, we discussed in groups how to practically solve a cyberbullying situation. In order to prevent bullying behaviours it is vital to foster a positive classroom environment. This is why we explored the topics of emotional intelligence, membership and inclusion and collaboration. These are pillars for a supportive classroom and should not be underestimated. Of course we discussed about this with a lot of non formal and creative activities and games, thanks to which it was impossible to get bored ;) We concluded our course with the Olweus model of bullying prevention: a powerful tool that can and should be put into practice in every school, to eradicate the problem. Indeed the true strength of this session was the energy and willingness to share of the whole group, either with words or with drawings and images. Thank you to each of you for your participation! Discover more about this course in: https://www.erasmustrainingcourses.com/stop-bullying.html The new edition of the course “Integrating ICT and new technologies into teaching and education” took place in Palermo from 10/07/2022 to 16/07/2022. The participants came from all across Europe, with Gergana, Polya, Katerina, Neli and Toshko from 35 SEU Dobri Voinkov in Bulgary, and participants coming from three different schools: Mercedes, Estela, Sara from IES Valle del Jerte , Isidro from IES Luis de Lucena and Cristina from IES Antonio Buero Vallejo The teachers had the chance to explore the power of new technologies to engage, motivate and empower scholars. Nowadays, students are so involved on technology that they can manage it so well, so it’s important for teachers to try to use it as a strength in their classrooms. To this purpose there are infinity ICT tools that are useful in the educational context and that can help teachers to communicate better with their students and in a more interactive way. The first days, the teachers explored ICT tools to create interactive and virtual boards, to interact with a students in a creative way and to create virtual experiences. Collecting instant feedbacks, creating real time polls and managing online Q&A moments are few of the possibilities we experienced together, having fun sharing unique presentations created by the teachers. During the week we discovered also the power of video lessons: the participants learned how to add questions, notes and content to animated videos, transforming boring video lessons in interactive activities. The third day creativity was the key word: we deepened visual tools to create interactive graphics, catching content and animated scenes in an easy and fun way. During the last part of the week the teachers explored the gamification world, with interactive games, competitions, leader boards, badges and much more. This days we learned how fun it can be playing and learning at the same time, and how collaboration and team working are important to promote students engagement. Finally, the last day we deepened the topic of web design, exploring different tools to create a website or a blog about different kinds of topics and purposes. In conclusion, everyone had a great time, developed its English skills and learned new tools to improve its teaching methods. “A wonderful experience combining lessons and entertainment in a magnificent city like Palermo. We loved it!” Grazie mille! Un saluto da Palermo! Discover more about this course at https://www.erasmustrainingcourses.com/integrating-ict-into-teaching-and-training.html
Il est de nos jours important de se pencher sur les méthodes et stratégies d'enseignement non formelles afin de découvrir les potentialités qu’elles peuvent apporter à l’éducation. Lorsqu'il s'agit d'apprendre et de prévenir le décrochage scolaire, l'éducation non formelle peut se caractériser de la manière suivante: "Toute activité éducative organisée en dehors du système formel établi - qu'elle fonctionne séparément ou qu'elle soit une caractéristique importante d'une activité plus large - qui est destinée à servir des clientèles et des objectifs d'apprentissage identifiables " (Philip Coombs, 1973). La nouvelle édition du cours “Méthodes et stratégies d'enseignement de l'éducation non formelle" a eu lieu à Bologne du 11 au 15 juillet 2022. Les participants venaient de l’établissement scolaire Colegiul Național „Gheorghe Roșca Codreanu” Bârlad en Roumanie. Ecaterina enseigne la physique, Elena les mathématiques, Neculai les technologies de l'information et de la communication, Ramona l’histoire, et Iulian la religion. Andrea, Diana et Cristina sont toutes trois professeurs de littérature roumaine, et Daniela est psychologue.
Ensuite, les participants ont abordé le rôle du facilitateur, élément central lié à la manière de travailler avec les élèves, mettant ces derniers au centre du processus d’apprentissage. Le groupe a exploré les caractéristiques du facilitateur liées à la différence avec l’enseignant “traditionnel”, suivi de conseils pour suivre au mieux ce rôle. Ils ont utilisé des activités visuelles pour découvrir les caractéristiques et explorer la relation entre élèves et professeurs. En effet, les stratégies visuelles sont un autre aspect important de l’éducation non formelle. Les participants ont été amenés par exemple à articuler leurs idées sous forme de collages, de dessins ou encore de métaphores pour stimuler leur pensée créative et leur expression.
En conclusion, pendant cette semaine, les enseignants ont eu l'occasion d'expérimenter des méthodes innovantes dans un environnement stimulant, améliorant des compétences telles que le travail d'équipe, l'empathie et la pensée critique. Ils ont finalement eu l’opportunité de découvrir de nombreuses activités qu’ils pourront modeler selon leurs besoins et appliquer dans leur enseignement avec les élèves. Découvrez-en plus sur ce cours sur :
https://www.erasmustrainingcourses.com/non-formal-education-teaching-methods.html Today is more than important to work on factors that can help preventing and managing Early School Leaving and conflicts. This is the aim of this training course which topic is every day more and more crucial even if there are no easy answers. With a holistic approach in mind, during the course, the participants will learn how to identify the causes of this phenomenon, the best approaches and strategies to prevent, tackle and reduce it, and the keys to conflict management. The new edition of the course “Preventing conflicts and tackling Early School Leaving” took place in Bologna from 10/07/2022 to 15/07/2022. The participants came from all across Europe, with Øystein Førsvoll from Norway; Enuș Ionela Nicoleta and Iorga Marinela Monica from Romania; Miroslava Angelova Petrova, Zornitsa Nikolova Marinova and Milena Aleksandrova Trendafilova from Bulgaria; Soultos Leonidas, Chaspari Maria Sofia, Anastasiou Maria and Boutsi Paraskevi from Greece; Eleni Ioannou Lordou, Spyros Kouloumis and Christos Papachristodoulou from Cyprus.
The participants went on discovering the conflict management topic. First, we dedicated some time for a perspective change. With the support of an inspirational TED Talk, the group who initially associated the idea of conflict with something essentially negative, realized afterward how conflicts provided in their life unique opportunities to improve their relationship, communication, and understanding. We also discussed how to manage a conflict and its several styles.
The group focused on and discussed how and teach to students to have a mindset of growth. Then the group defined and characterized the main “negative” student types and developed practical tips and suggestions on how to deal with them in the most effective ways. We analyzed through visual tasks and group reflection the phenomenon of bullying and possible strategies to become upstanders and stop bullying.The group focused then on how to battle negativity in the classroom and false believes, through group reflection and practical activities. We analyzed different conflict management styles and discussed their concrete application in different situations. During the week we learned how to use many tools to create engaging activities: Socrative, Bamboozle, Mentimeter, Quizlet. The key word of this week’s training course was “transformation”: we learned how to change perspective on conflicts, how to transform the strong and sometimes negative energy of some students into something positive and productive, and how to change our mindset from fixed to growth, how to transform a group of people into a team. Discover more about this course on our website:
https://www.erasmustrainingcourses.com/early-school-leaving.html ![]() Bullying affects all youth, including those who are victims, those who bully others, and those who act as audience, and its effects may continues till adulthood. Bullying may be physically or virtually. The shocking statistics from National Center for Educational Statistics of 2019 reveals that one out of every five students reports being bullied. The course was intended to counter all forms of bullying in all educational settings. The new session of the course “How to stop bullying and cyberbullying in schools and promote social emotional learning” took place in Palermo, Sicily from 03/07/2022 to 09/07/2022. Our participants came from diverse educational backgrounds: Katja , Audrey and Elina came from Phorms Education and Phorms Taunus Primary, Germany; Mercedesz joined us from Vaci Szc Petzelt Jozsef Technikum és Szakkepzo Iskol, Hungary; Patrycja and Joanna from Szkoła Podstawowa nr 7 im. Jana Karnowskiego w Chojnicach, Poland; Beata, Anna and Maciej took part from Powiatowy Zespół Placówek Szkolno - Wychowawczych, Poland; Iban from Instituto Enseñanza Secundaria Fuente Nueva, Spain; Elpida, Vasileios, Vasiliki and Konstantia from 8o Dimotiko Sxoleio Karditsas, Greece; and Ione from BirtLH Vocational training School, Spain. ![]() Our introductory day started with some brainstorming activities about all the different kinds of bullying behaviours: the forms it takes, the roles involved, its main features and the difference between bullying and conflict. We discussed in detail about the risk factors that lead young people to be bullied and to bully, and also about the initiatives and strategies that can be implemented to avoid bullying behaviours. These topics were discussed from different viewpoints including individual, family, school and community. ![]() Cyberbullying is a far greater problem that affects too many people all around the world and it is the most difficult type of bullying to be eradicated. Internet is part of everyone’s life these days and it has both positive and negative impacts on the younger generation. With practical and interactive sessions, we discussed in detail about the ways to prevent it in educational environments. A focus on the differences between Traditional and Cyber bullying was also part of the training. ![]() In order to prevent bullying behaviours, it is necessary to implement a supportive classroom environment. For this reason, we explored various topics related to emotional intelligence, membership, inclusion and collaboration. These are the main features of a positive school environment and we should take it into account while running our lessons or preparing our school policies and programs. Moreover, we explored some useful conflict management strategies During the week, participants had also the chance to be taken around the beautiful and historical Palermo and its surroundings and were briefed about its marvellous history. Along with the aforementioned topics, various fun filled activities were arranged for the participants so that they may make the most out of the course in their respective domains to eradicate bullying as a whole. Discover more about this course in: https://www.erasmustrainingcourses.com/stop-bullying.htm
As teachers, we aim for our pupils to be successful, to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to thrive in their lives. Our modern society is extremely diversified and multicultural, which represents a richness but can also bring difficulties. For this reason, promoting diversity, open-mindedness, empathy and tolerance in the classroom has become crucial for teachers and schools, with the goal of making an impact on learners and society. The new edition of the course “Diversity in the classroom: teaching tolerance and overcoming prejudices and discrimination” took place in Bologna from 04/07/2022 to 09/07/2022. The participants came from a primary school in Greece, with Anastasios, Ioannis, Konstantinos, Apostolos, Stamatina, Stavroula, Efthalia, Efthymia, Efterpi, Zoi from DECATO DIMOTIKO SXOLIO N. IONIAS VOLOU.
We also analysed the key challenges and concerns in acknowledging and promoting cultural diversity. A TED talk helped us recognize that what makes us and our students who we are is not our country but our whole culture: in fact, our identity is being developed on various and interconnected levels. Then, we cannot deal with the concept of diversity without mentioning the notion of stereotypes. We discussed the cause of their existence and their impact, both negative and positive, how we form stereotypes and where they lead us. We implemented the storytelling technique to see how stereotypes can evolve into judgments and discrimination.
Finally, an essential concept that the group examined was empathy. We dug into feelings and emotions, fostering teachers to put themselves in other people’s shoes. Being aware of our emotions is crucial but it’s important as well to train ourselves and the students to express them. In conclusion, it was a bright week full of energy, new knowledge, practice, sharing, deep conversations, ideas and emotions. Discover more about this course: https://www.erasmustrainingcourses.com/teaching-diversity.htm
Being in contact with the outdoors has a positive impact on the development of humans. It is not unusual to feel inspired whilst on a walk in your local park, or going away to the countryside to “get some peace”. Outdoor Education is an innovative teaching method that answers to that need for space; it offers long-lasting quality education, and fights against the ever-evolving climate crisis. The new edition of the course “Outdoor education: a new way of teaching and learning” took place in Bologna from 26/06/2022 - 02/07/2022. The participants came from all across Europe, with Airita from Priekule secondary school in Latvia; Laszlo from Fenyi Gyula Jesuit High School in Hungary; Aikaterini from 2nd KINDERGARTEN SCHOOL OF LITOCHORO in Greece; Ilze from Barboleta Ltd/ kindergarten "Learn to Learn" in Latvia; Charlotte from USA; Jana from Gymnázium Šrobárova in Slovakia; Jakab from Rákospalotai Meixner Általános Iskola és Alapfokú Művészeti Iskola in Hungary; Silvia and Hortensia from HUERTAS DEL PALMAR SCHOOL in Spain; and Athanasia, Maria, Kyriaki, Ioannis from Δημοτικό Σχολείο Πανόρμου in Greece. The participants started the week off with defining Outdoor Education, and sharing their personal experience. In such a diverse group we were met with different techniques and practices, which came in handy when the group had to come up with a universal definition of Outdoor Education. It also helped when we were discussing the benefits of learning outdoors - the cognitive, behavioural, and physical aspects. On Tuesday we focused on learning about Outdoor Education in nature, with a visit to a local park close to Bologna. All the games and activities gave inspiration to the group in more than one way - this was to help them tackle the last challenge of this week. Before going on an adventure of their own, the participants discovered Kurt Hahn’s 10 principles in an indoor setting by playing a treasure hunt in the course venue. Running around the building they could feel like their students for once, whilst also gathering more clues about the topic at hand. After a short discussion about the principles, the group left to explore Florence. Another thing we stressed was the fact that Outdoor Education doesn’t have to happen only in open spaces in nature. We started the day off with a treasure hunt in the centre of Bologna - both to test the participants’ knowledge of Bologna, and to show them how to apply outdoor learning in an urban setting. After the morning’s hunt, the group learned how to make their own. The last day was dedicated to brainstorming. Using the venue’s garden as a map, the participants had to assess the risks, the opportunities, and come up with the activities they could do with their pupils. The last challenge of this week was to come up with a detailed plan of their own outdoor activity! We had some great ideas, and great feedback from both the peers, and the trainer. By the time the week came to an end, the group gained many ideas to apply in their classes, were experts on the topic of Bologna, and - thanks to the Greek participants - became amateur Sirtaki dancers. Thank you for this week and good luck in applying your outdoor activities! Discover more about this course at https://www.erasmustrainingcourses.com/outdoor-education.html
Nowadays it is easy to feel overwhelmed and to think that we cannot manage our daily tasks. Stressful situations can manifest themselves both in our professional and personal life and it can be difficult to avoid conflict when we find ourselves in a stressful environment. Learning how to cope with stress and how to deal with conflict management is a crucial soft skill in our modern workplace. In this course the participants had the opportunity, through theory and practical activities, to learn about the tools to manage and overcome conflict and stressful situations. The new edition of the course “Stress and Conflict Management: the way to resilience and satisfaction” took place in Bologna from 26/06/2022 to 1/07/2022. The participants came from all across Europe, with Noneta Bakiroviene and Gvida Rinkevičienė from Ukmerge Nursery-Kindergarten "Saulute" in Lithuania, Marta Alexandra Marques Bento, Ana Paula Muacho, Nádia Lopes de Figueiredo and Francisco Manuel Pereira Destapado from Agrupamento de Escolas Emídio Navarro in Portugal, Ilona Kovács from HMSZC Bornemissza Gergely Technikum, Szakképző Iskola és Kollégium in Hungary, Gabriela Fischer and Christine Mössler from HLW Schrödinger in Austria, Petra Hamnar and Ann-Catrin Malmmark Svensson from Alviksskolan in Sweden, and Susana Pérez from Institut Cal.lipolis in Spain. On the first day participants reflected on the meaning of the word stress by brainstorming in groups. Stress is caused by a series of stressors that can be related to many factors: physical, environmental, family-related, or work-related. However, small amounts of stress can also have positive outcomes and push us to achieve our goals or to respect a deadline for example. For this reason the group learned to distinguish between Distress (negative) and Eustress (positive).
Another topic that was discussed during the course was assertiveness, which is a fundamental skill when it comes to dealing with conflicts. It can be tricky sometimes, especially when we fear we will hurt the feelings of the person in front of us. However, in every conversation “no” should be also taken into account. We also discussed about resilience and gratitude.
During this week everyone kept in mind one important concept: to always approach any conflict with two different point of view. The first one as an individual (as a parent, friend…) and the other one from their role inside the school, as educators. This helped them to bring the topic home and built an open-minded environment. Discover more about this course in: https://www.erasmustrainingcourses.com/early-school-leaving.htm
How can we, as teachers, make sure our students learn all the skills required in the actual labor marked? How can we teach them 21th century skills, like adaptability, critical thinking and problem solving? During the new edition of the course “Introducing Project Based Learning in the Classroom”, which took place in Palermo from 19/06/2022 to 25/06/2022, we tried to give an answer to this questions, exploring the power of Project Based Learning method. The participants came from Iceland, with Sif, Sigrún, Ingunn, Guðjón, Gylfi, Kristrún, Sigrún, Vaka, Valdís and Víðir, teachers in the school “Kársnesskóli”. During the week the teachers had the opportunity to build real projects to test with their students. Step by step we introduced new elements, so that each knowledge acquired on the PBL method was linked to a new element to be added in their projects. After analyzing the main features of the PBL method, we tried to understand together how to build a driving question, how to define learning goals and learning outcomes, which is the power of mini lessons, which kind of assessment methods are useful in this approach and, finally, which ICT tools can be used to motivate students and promote their creativity. ![]() We did not miss moments of confrontation, teamwork and fun: through games and group activities we discovered what are the fundamental elements to prepare the class: creativity, inquiry, team building and team working. The theme of the week was also to become aware of the new role of the teacher in the PBL method, which becomes a facilitator of learning. The learning process starts from our students, and we, as teachers, need to make them the main actors in this path, guiding them in the process of making questions and finding answers. During the course, we also had a driving question: how can I create my own PBL plan? Piece by piece, I hope we found your “unique” answers together. Now it’s your turn! We are curious to find out how you will develop your projects in your school, and what creative and unique results will produce your students. Hoping to welcoming you again in Palermo, A presto! Discover more about this course in: https://www.erasmustrainingcourses.com/project-based-learning.html
When it comes to learning a language we all know this one rule - practice makes perfect. Learning cannot only happen in the classroom, and these last years have proven to us that we need to find new, digital ways of teaching. This poses a set of challenges: how to keep students enthusiastic and interested? How to find the adequate platforms? Can learning a language be fun and practical? Our participants could find the answers to all these questions - and more - during their weekly stay in Bologna. The new edition of the course “Teaching languages in the digital era: the best apps, web platforms and ICT solutions for learning languages” took place in Bologna from 19/06/2022 to 25/06/2022. The participants came from all across Europe, with Daniela Meier, Christina Bunte, Alina Schwede, Helga Hartmann from Heinz-Nixdorf Gesamtschule Paderborn in Germany; Sara Martín González from EOI La Laguna in Spain; Doina Jalaveanu, Laura Tarau from Gradinita cu Prigram Prelungit nr 37 Braila in Romania; Gabriella Hegyi from Kossuth Lajos Evangélikus Általános Iskola és Alapfokú Művészeti Iskola in Hungary; Vasiliki Stouri, Eleni Karakolidou from SDE Kallitheas in Greece; and Carmen Plana Nacenta, Belén Aso Cuello from CPEPA Miguel Henrández in Spain. During this course the participants learnt how to use a vast range of technological tools and to put them into use by integrating it into their teaching methods. These tools are useful not only for engagement and motivation but also to monitor progress for example in vocabulary learning, communication and individual work. This course allowed the participants to engage in a great number of practical activities and to experience these tools first-hand. For example, they competed in a live quiz while learning how to create interactive language quizzes by using web apps. In addition the participants also learnt about tools that allow the user to outline and recap the contents of the lesson and prepare for example grammar presentations, pose questions and monitor students’ attention in the classroom, especially during these times where distance learning is very common. They also explored platforms that can be useful to create worksheets and explainer videos easily. The participants also discovered specific platforms that are also very useful for language learning because they allow teachers to add voice notes, questions and voiceovers to educational videos, turning them into lessons. They also had a look at tools to edit pictures and videos - such tools can be used for a variety of purposes: preparing multimedia content, introducing a new subject or summing up an old one, challenging the students’ to create their own work in order to engage their creativity. The whole group was very active and made many learning games, which we were lucky enough to test out and share our feedback. One of the most interesting activities was experiencing and later creating their own digital escape room. We were also quizzed on many different subjects, so we could test our own trivia knowledge! Learning languages can be challenging, however by using the right tools and incorporating technology into the classroom can increase engagement, creativity, and effectiveness! We sent the participants home with a whole suitcase of ideas and tools to practice with, and a backpack of memories :) Discover more about this course at https://www.erasmustrainingcourses.com/ict-language.html
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